Congratulations to Dr. Mark Cembrowski, recipient of the 2025 Canadian Association for Neuroscience (CAN) New Investigator Award. This prestigious national honour recognizes Dr. Cembrowski as an outstanding scientist, collaborator and mentor, conducting leading-edge research on the cellular and molecular underpinnings of cognition and brain disorders, particularly in memory.
As a member of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH) and associate professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Dr. Cembrowski has developed a pioneering research program investigating memory and cognition across molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioural scales. He applies multidisciplinary approaches drawing from experimental neuroscience, mathematics and engineering to identify cell types in the brain and their role in normal brain function and disorder. Through this unique approach, he has made critical advances showing that specific brain cell types govern distinct aspects of learning, memory, epilepsy and Alzheimer disease.
Dr. Cembrowski’s combined mathematical and experimental background have made him a leader in transcriptomics, which requires challenging experimental techniques in combination with “big data” machine-learning analysis and statistics. At UBC, he has both developed and applied a variety of methodologies in this area to reveal new organizational principles in the brain. His research is also notable for extending this transcriptomics-derived cell-type framework to functionally investigate and manipulate cell types in the brain. One key example of the power and insight of his approach is his lab’s discovery of “ovoid cells,” a previously unknown type of excitatory hippocampal neuron that plays a key role in non-spatial memory formation.
Dr. Cembrowski has also developed new research programs in human brain tissue since he started at UBC. This includes building nationally unique collaborations with local neurosurgeons and neuropathologists to obtain and use living human brain tissue from patients undergoing epilepsy or brain tumour surgery. This living tissue work is opening new avenues for understanding the cellular-molecular operation of the living human brain in multiple clinical conditions and identifying and directly testing new drug interventions. Ultimately, his multispecies approach to the investigation of the mechanisms of cognition and brain disorders enhances the potential for further breakthroughs in both basic and applied neuroscience.
In addition to his research, Dr. Cembrowski is also an incredibly engaged mentor known for his positive lab culture and care for trainee well-being. To date, he has mentored 42 trainees from multiple disciplines including neuroscience, physics, math and engineering.
“Relative to career stage, Mark is likely the most prolific mentor UBC neuroscience has ever had,” says Dr. Lynn Raymond, Co-director of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. “As a principal investigator, he has fostered a richly interdisciplinary lab environment.”
Beyond his lab, Dr. Cembrowski advances EDI initiatives through various leadership roles. This includes his advisory board position at the Allen Institute, where he helped implement EDI principles in their Next Generation Leader program, as well as his role as Associate Director of the UBC Graduate Program in Neuroscience, where he developed and implemented a variety of new EDI-centric policies around admissions, awards, student wellness, and decision making.
Dr. Cembrowski’s research excellence has also been recognized by local, national and global organizations, including the UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Foundational Science Research, the Azrieli Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research from Brain Canada, the New Investigator Award from the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada and Brain Canada. In addition, he was named an Allen Institute Next Generation Leader and has received a Krieg Cortical Explorer award from the Cajal Club. He has also been highly successful in acquiring research funding, including highly competitive New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration grants, NSERC Discovery grants, CIHR project grants and a recently awarded Brain Canada Future Leader of Canadian Brain Research Momentum grant, among others.
The quality and impact of Dr. Cembrowski’s research is also evident in the numerous invitations he has received to present his findings. Since 2019, he has been invited to present 47 invited talks at prominent institutions including the NIH, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, HHMI Janelia Research Campus, the Allen Institute and The Jackson Laboratory. His research has also received public attention, with interviews featured in the National Post, Globe and Mail, Nature Methods and Science.
On a broader scale, Dr. Cembrowski has also made significant contributions to the global neuroscience community. Notably, he has demonstrated a commitment to open science through the creation and maintenance of web portals (e.g., hipposeq.janelia.org, and scrnaseq.janelia.org) that provide open-access datasets, as well as analysis and visualization tools. The impact of these efforts is underscored by the widespread use of these resources, with over 8,000 unique users from more than 80 countries, helping to address systemic barriers to access to technology and data.
“It is an honour to be a recipient of the New Investigator Award from the Canadian Association for Neuroscience,” says Dr. Cembrowski. “I’ve been so inspired by CAN’s work to bolster neuroscience research and create a close community of neuroscientists across the country, so to receive this recognition from CAN is truly special.”
During the early stages of his career, Dr. Cembrowski has already distinguished himself as a leader in his field and the DMCBH looks forward to the continued impact of his innovative research and mentorship within the neuroscience community in the years to come.
